Nick Trophy
Nick Trophy is a weakened aspect of the Lovecraftian deity Nyarlathotep and a central antagonist in the surrealist multi-series crossover webcomic, Adventures in Whipple. ''Once the ruler of primordial Earth, his body was destroyed by David Bowie and his soul was locked outside of the universe. Managing to reform a two-dimensional, "badly-drawn" incorporeal body for himself through eons of sheer will and determination, he has returned to Earth to cause anarchy and seek revenge on those who he deems responsible for his weakened state. Appearance Nick Trophy is a two-dimensional "stick person" of sorts, with a simply-drawn body and head with scrawled, black lines for limbs. He is dressed in a crude rendering of a tailcoat and a stovepipe hat in a crude attempt to emulate Fred Astaire. He claims to have drawn his own body in Microsoft Paint and appears to be superimposed over his environment rather than occupying any actual space wherein, emphasized when he's seen to casually walk out of the comic and into the negative background space. He has the ability to possess human bodies and those acting as a host to him display pinpoint pupils, pale, corpse-like skin, jerky movements, and secret a thick, oil-like substance from their mucous membranes. Personality Nick appears to be very childish and impulsive in his dealings, prone to fits of mania and temper tantrums. He tries to be charismatic and witty but these attempts simply come off as obnoxious to those around him. He is extraordinarily hedonistic and laments the loss of his physical body, which has greatly hampered his ability to drink, consume illicit substances, and have sex. Thus, he has become addicted to occupying human bodies so that he may feed his carnal desires. He displays a degree of frustration when occupying corpses; they're easier to possess but decay quickly and lack physical sensation, leading Nick to pursue greater sources of stimulation in a desperate effort to feel something, even if that sensation is intense agony. He seems to be masochistic at times but enjoys hurting others even more, claiming that the universe has become too "orderly" and that it's his duty to return it to its "natural chaotic state" by causing as much suffering and misfortune as possible. This is later written-off by David Bowie who believes Nick is just looking for an excuse to justify his innate sadism and aggression. Due to the inconsistent justification of his behavior, his true motivations for his actions are hazy at best but he seems to take childlike joy in the havoc he wreaks and is quick to resort to tantrums when thwarted or insulted. Despite his intense lust for causing chaos and panic, Nick displays some affable traits - especially around those he considers friends. He mentions looking forward to attending "Reality Warper Con" with Bill Cipher and Mr. Mxyzptlk and seems friendly enough to those he holds no particular animosity towards, though this may be a front. Powers and Abilities Nick's "body" exists on a separate plane of reality meaning that he can't be physically interacted with unless he's either possessing a host or intentionally willing himself to interact with something on the physical plane. He can possess humans, but must be "invited" inside if his host of choice is currently alive. While he can possess human corpses without invitation, they fall apart quickly while he's inside of them and their lack of neural activity makes it difficult for Nick to experience physical sensations while inside of them, his primary reason for possessing humans in the first place. People that he has possessed take on a telltale "infected" appearance with pinprick pupils and streams of black liquid running from their tear ducts and mouths, indicating that his possession has adverse physical effects on the bodies of his hosts. He seems to be aware of his existence as a fictional character and routinely and literally "breaks the fourth wall," frequently damaging the pages on which he appears, using the background outside of the comic panels as a amoeba-like living weapon, and even wordlessly acknowledging the reader at one point. Fitting his status as the remains of a deity of chaos, he can manipulate the immediate probability around him to make anything he wants a reality. Despite this immense power, his general lack of intelligence and childish impulsiveness mean that he rarely-if-ever uses it to its full potential. It's hinted that he may not even be aware of how strong he really is. Inhabiting a physical body doesn't seem to hamper his abilities as he is seen teleporting, creating objects out of thin air, and distorting perception, all while possessing a victim. He is, however, vulnerable to the Elder Sign of the Cthulhu Mythos and can be exorcised from a host if the host is carrying the sign on them. He also cannot enter the mind of someone who has a conscious memory of hearing "The Waltz of Psycholocking," a musical spell that was written to protect potential victims from Nick's magic. Nick is also an adept liar and trickster and was able to convince both Jonas Eder and Jorge Jonkers that he was a benevolent wish-granting entity that could do great things for them. While Jorge was teetering on the edge of madness and pushed to desperation when he encountered Nick and thus was easily won over, it is unknown what state Eder was in when he met Nick but he speaks of him as a friend in the spellbook he left behind so it can be assumed that Nick somehow won him over as well. Inferring that Eder, who was a college professor and a genius in the arcane arts, was someone of significant intelligence, this further lends to Nick's prowess at lying and flattery. Biography Once existing as Nyarlathotep, son of the demon sultan, Azathoth and the brother of a nameless "deity of order" who would eventually incarnate as David Bowie, the Outer God who would become Nick Trophy took control of a primeval planet known as Earth, a growing world that had been abandoned by its old masters, the Elder Things. Using the "bio-furnaces" they left behind, he created early humanity and regarded this new species as a toy, ruling over them as a cruel and malevolent god, controlling them through a memetic torture device called the ''Black Iron Prison and filling the roll of Demiurge as depicted in Gnosticism. When the Gem Homeworld discovered Earth and attempted to induct it into their empire, they discovered Nyarlathotep and the atrocities he had committed. Summoning his brother, David Bowie, they waged a war against the Crawling Chaos to liberate mankind, succeeding in destroying his body and locking his consciousness outside of the universe. Now rendered immaterial, he spent the next several eons learning to manipulate matter and probability, eventually growing strong enough to construct a rudimentary surrogate image to occupy and escaping to Earth where it's implied that he's been living in the shadows, discretely tormenting humanity for centuries. At some point, he encountered paranormal researcher, Jonas Eder, and masqueraded as a benevolent spirit, granting Eder wishes in exchange for allowing him to occupy his body so he could consume food, drink, and have sex. It was around this point that he began calling himself Nick Trophy (a pun on the word entropy). When Eder began to wise up to Nick's true nature, he began compiling an extensive guide in secret on how to use a series of enchanted devices and talismans he had constructed to control Nick and render him completely subservient and powerless, not unlike a genie. When Nick discovered this betrayal, he began ceaselessly tormenting Eder, driving the beleaguered paranormal researcher to madness. After selling an urn containing what he believed to be the ashen remains of Nick's original body to Dude the Evolution, Jonas Eder left his guide to I. M. Meen and is implied to have committed suicide, according to Dude. After his death, his estate went to his nephew and closest living relative, Sawyer Strelec, thus initiating the plot of Adventures in Whipple. Following Eder's death, Nick Trophy would return to aimlessly bothering mankind until Sawyer met David Bowie, who informed him of Nick's existence and told him to beware of the reality-warping trickster. Shortly after, Peridot was able to locate Nick (who was occupying a human corpse) and arrested him, bringing him aboard a Gem ship to be questioned by Bowie. Nick rambled aimlessly about his contradictory motives before revealing his true powers, severely injuring his brother and escaping the ship. Meanwhile, Aidan Cassidy and Jorge Jonkers, the latter of whom had become possessed by the ambulant spirit of the Master, discovered Jonas Eder's guidebook and sought to summon Nick Trophy to expunge the evil spirit possessing him. When the search for the talismans needed to conduct the ritual led Jorge and company to Egypt, Colin Cassidy encountered Nick inside of the body of a living businessman in the café where he would later encounter Daniel J. D'Arby. As neither of them were acquainted with the other, their encounter was quite friendly in nature, Nick even letting Colin borrow his host's cellphone so that he could call Sadie to inquire about the whereabouts of J. Geil and Hol Horse. His attitude towards the entire group would sour, however, after he was summoned by Jorge upon the gang's return from Egypt. Taking an instant disliking towards Nathan Shafir, Nick tricked Jorge into allowing him inside of his mind and relentlessly pursued Nathan with the intent of murdering him. Nathan inadvertently led the possessed Jorge to his friends at the overlook, where Nick, speaking through Jorge, stated his intent to murder Pearl as a first-strike against the Gem Homeworld. However, an injured-but-recovering David Bowie arrived and expunged both Nick and the Master from Jorge's body following a brief fight. Initially furious, Nick's attitude changed to that of gloating once he learned of the massacre in the city carried out by the now-empowered Christian Chandler. Mocking his new enemies, he opened a portal and fled into another universe, leaving behind the words, "FUCK YOU - LOVE, NICK" etched into the background. Trivia * Nick appears aware of his status as a fictional character, hinted at when he turns towards the viewer at the end of MID-EGYPT INTERMISSION and states, grinning, "I GET WHAT'S GOING ON." * When Nick is possessing a host, his text is formatted like any other character's. When free of a host, his text is rendered in ALL CAPS, possibly to hint at a strange quality or reverb to his voice. * Nick displays many qualities similar to other fictional characters, Bill Cipher and Mister Mxyzptlk - primarily his formal manner of dress, casual attitude, deal-oriented possession abilities, and reality-warper attributes. Fittingly enough, it was revealed in Chapter 18 that he's friends with both of them, and that they attend an annual "Reality-Warper Con" together. * Despite his animosity towards his brother, David Bowie, Nick admits to liking his music, specifically mentioning Bowie's Berlin Trilogy. This could have been flattery, though, in an attempt to disarm his brother. * In the pages of Jonas Eder's book, a diagram is shown depicting Nick's top hat with a Bill Cipher-esque eye, wrapping a human head in tendrils. Though Nick's hat is shown to change shape to correspond to his mood, it has never been shown acting as an independent being as depicted in the illustration, nor has it been shown to have an eye and tentacles. An earlier illustration in the book also depicts an eye on Nick's hat, indicating that these pictures may show an earlier design for Nick that was altered before his actual appearance in the comic. Gallery nickridingdave.png|Nick riding a critically wounded David Bowie. nickhost.png|A victim of Nick's possession. nickaftermath.png|Nick walks off the remains of the page after crippling Bowie. Possessing Jorge.png|Jorge is overtaken by Nick Trophy while a horrified Nathan looks on. nickbusiness.jpg|Nick, occupying the body of a nameless living businessman in Egypt. exnick.gif|David Bowie forcibly exorcising Nick from a physically-augmented Jorge. 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